Democratic California Rep. Barbara Lee enters Senate race to replace Sen. Feinstein

California Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee this week joined a growing field of candidates seeking to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose staff announced that she will not seek reelection.

The Hill reported that the California Democrat had filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday to run for Feinstein's seat, but the lawmaker has yet to formally announce her campaign.

"[T]he campaign is taking the necessary steps to prepare," a consultant for Lee told the outlet. "The Congresswoman will have more to say about this before the end of the month."

Feinstein, 89, is the eldest lawmaker in the upper chamber. Her staff announced on Tuesday that she would not seek reelection, but the senator later appeared at a press conference, and initially denied she had decided to retire, unaware of the press release. Upon clarification from her staff, she confirmed her retirement plans.

Lee will join California Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter in vying for the seat. Both had declared their candidacies prior to Feinstein's announcement.

California's jungle primary system allows for multiple candidates from the same party to enter the race, before narrowing the field to the top two vote-getters. Theoretically, two Democrats can appear on the general election ballot.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.